I Am Not Yours
by Sweet-baby93
Summary: Fitz and Olivia have been best friends all through their childhood. They had always been inseparable until Olivia suddenly moves away for college. Now they are brought back together again and Olivia's feelings for her best friend seem to have disappeared as she tries to move on. Will Fitz finally open his eyes to what's been right in front of him before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

**COMING HOME**

**Adele – Hometown Glory**

**_Round my hometown  
>Memories are fresh<br>Round my hometown  
>Ooh the people I've met<br>Are the wonders of my world_**

7:32 at Union Station found Olivia at DC's Union Station.

Sleep was something she viewed as being a waste of time and wasn't dwelling on any frustration from lack of rest. For the past three weeks she had been wired and absent-minded. Even her colleagues had noticed but none had commented, in fear and respect of her reaction.

She had been up since 3. At first she had tried to work but when that was deemed impossible, she busied herself with finding the perfect outfit. After twenty costume changes, she decided that the white pantsuit would subdue. Underneath she had a light blue silk blouse that matched her platform heels.

She never was one to worry about her appearance but it was him. It was always him; something about him just made her lose sense of herself.

This made her thankful of the grounding sound of her Blackberry. Reaching down into her bag, she answered the call. "What?"

"Are you still at the train station?"

Rolling her eyes with an easy smile she replied calmly. "Yes Huck. You don't have to keep checking up on me" she mused with a faint smile.

"I know, I just…"

"You worry about me" she guessed and pondered over the thought. It was a strange feeling, having someone who cared and worried about her. Still, she couldn't fault him because she worried over him too. "Did you eat?" she wondered and her reply was the silence that followed. "I got those chocolate chip pop tarts you like" Olivia informed him.

"You didn't have to" Huck sighed tautly.

Olivia pushed up from the bench and warily glanced at the crowd that began to form.

"I told you to make yourself at home" she whispered over the phone, still anxious about his wellbeing. They had formed a bond – nothing romantic but more like a sibling bond. After he shaved the beard and allowed Olivia to take him to the barber's shop, Huck had set up camp in her guest bedroom. When they left the office, they found themselves driving home and sometimes humming to the radio.

Sometimes, Huck would cook. However, when Olivia expressed her surprise by his impressive culinary skills, Huck seemed to shut down, muttering numbly about a past life. Somehow, she had been able to pull him back in and they moved on.

"Thank you" he rasped.

She smiled, touched by his gratitude. "I'll see you soon" she promised and made a move to hang up but paused with his departing words.

"Be careful"

Once the line went dead, she noticed how the station was slowly becoming crowded. Her brown eyes roamed over the different families and partners streaming around. A few were holding flowers and other wrapped gifts. This made Olivia feel incompetent. Should she have brought something?

She glanced at the time. 9:29.

Just as she looked up, the train began to reel in.

Right on time.

The crowd immediately buzzed with excitement, oblivious to the woman in white who seemed to have frozen. Olivia's breath caught in her throat and her nerves kicked in as she began to run over the possibility of rejection. Their last encounter hadn't exactly been amicable.

Nonetheless, she refused to turn away. It was better to face the fear than go home and run over 'what if' scenarios.

Biting down on her lip, she watched as soldiers filed out and reconciled with loved ones. One particular couple caught her eye and she watched as the man in camouflage wrapped his arms around his partner. His lips crashing down onto hers as both lovers lost themselves in each other.

Olivia couldn't deny the envy that was sparked. It wasn't malicious but more wistful.

She looked around, feeling more lost and disoriented with the flurry of movement and raging sounds surrounding her. Her heartbeat began to race and her ears were ringing while her doubts continued to toy with her. Any second now she w-

"Looking for me?"

The voice was so familiar; soothing velvet tones with a slightly husky octave. It was dark and lowered as the sound brushed against her ear and pleasurably tickled her skin.

Turning around slowly, she tried to remain calm at the sight of him. Swallowing down the different emotions overwhelming her, she gulped and finally found her voice. "I see your huge ego is still intact" she taunted, falling into their easy banter.

A grin broke the hardened mask and blue eyes gleamed, entrancing her. "God I missed you" he spoke again and before she could say anything, strong muscled arms encased her. Instantly, she was being swung in the air and a surprised laugh left her as she hung onto him.

When her feet landed back on the ground, neither of them let go.

17 years had passed and she had deluded herself to thinking she had matured; that she had embraced womanhood and hardened her heart. However, just seeing him brought all those feelings back, overriding her gut and any logic.

"I missed you too" she whispered, blinking away the tears that brimmed.

He was the first to pull back – that hadn't changed. Still, her kept one arm around her waist as both stared into each other's eyes. Darkened cerulean locked onto glistening chocolate brown.

"Come on, I'll buy you a drink" Fitz finally said and moved the arm up to wrap it around her shoulders.

She pulled back slightly and gaped at him, "It's 10 o'clock in the morning" she laughed at the audacity but also overcome with how easy it had been.

"Your point?"

He hadn't changed.

The boy that had gotten back her blue stuffed bunny in kindergarten was still there; sitting across from her at O'Donnell's.

However, Olivia couldn't help but notice the subtle differences. Like the light stubble that was growing, which she found herself itching to touch. Apart from that, he had gained weight and muscle, which was defined by the grey NAVY t-shirt hugging his body. Also, the worrying change was how the light had dimmed in his eyes. She could see through the falsified smile he plastered as he conversed with the bartender, but knew better than to ruin his coming home. Maybe they would talk later…

"So, what can I get you?" the bartender asked, anxious about them being there so early but not having the heart to turn away paying customers.

Olivia looked towards Fitz knowingly. "Scotch on the rocks" she revised his favourite drink which the bartender began to prepare.

"You remember?" Fitz smiled warmly and reached up to push his locks back. "And if I remember correctly, it's a Victory beer?" he pointed at her, musing over their college days.

Olivia shook her head, adorning a sly smirk as she looked towards the owner of O'Donnell's. "Actually I'll have a glass of Merlot" she ordered.

Her best friend nudged her, narrowing his eyes. "You hate wine"

"People change" she shrugged and happily accepted the drink.

"Clearly"

Fitz shrugged and sipped at his scotch. After seven months away from normalcy, the first thing he wanted was alcohol. Not just any alcohol but a drink from O'Donnell's. Of course, the other motivator of needing a drink was seeing the almost unfamiliar woman dressed in white, waiting for him at the station.

He didn't know anyone was coming and hadn't expected them to. In fact, he had making a beeline through the crowds, towards the exit but been she stopped him. Seeing her after all these years made the world disconnect and he tried to find his ground. Maybe being intoxicated would help.

"So how did you know I was coming in today?" Fitz voiced the question that had haunted him.

She licked her lips and leaned back on the chair. Fitz caught how she avoided his gaze as she did something all too familiar; trace the rim of the glass with her finger. "Cyrus was my mentor in Georgetown" she replied in a collected manner.

"You know Cyrus" he piped up, eager with this information that now linked them.

All she did was offer a nod.

"And you came all this way for me? I'm touched" he teased her, loving how she ducked her head behind a curtain of hair, to hide her embarrassed smile.

Finally she looked up and took another sip. "Actually I live here now"

"Couldn't stay away?" he taunted again, wiggling his eyebrows at her. "I thought you were some big hot shot lawyer in New Jersey" he wondered, trying to figure out who the woman before him was. For Fitz, Olivia was almost a stranger…and he didn't want her to be.

Maybe it was because of how different she looked or the way she seemed to have herself…together. Maybe it was just how disconnected he felt with everyone. The only time he knew it was his Olivia was when he hugged her, held her in his arms and felt like he was home.

"I wanted to work for myself" Olivia announced, the mask still held in place as she tried not to look like a love-sick teenager. She was an independent working woman now and she didn't want that to change because of her…her Fitz.

"Well you never were a follower" he surmised with a mischievous glint that had Olivia staring. "You never liked taking orders. You always gave them" he chuckled under his breath.

"You make me sound like a control freak" she exclaimed.

His response was simply eying her quietly and before she could help it, she slapped his arm. Both were stunned by the familiar banter they fell back into. Fitz found hope in the gesture and the smile he gave was enough encouragement for Olivia.

"Remember your tenth birthday. You played pin the tail on the donkey in an alphabetical order. You measured the cake slices!"

Both began laughing with the memories but when the laughter subdued, Fitz leaned in slightly and stared at her with apprehension. "So you're staying?"

She nodded again. "I thought I'd stick around"

"Good. Washington is boring without you" he smiled with the assurance and brought the glass up to his lips. Olivia tried so very hard not to notice how his tongue traced his bottom lip as he set the glass back down.

Realising her fault, she berated herself silently and dropped her eyes back to her wine. Only, this distracted was interrupted as she felt his stare on her. When looking up, she was surprised with the intensity behind his gaze. His eyes held intrigue and awe but as always underlined with his amusement.

"What?" she demanded with a slight self-consciousness.

He leaned in again and she caught how his eyes moved away from her face and to the top of her head. "Your hair's longer" he noted and reached up to trace his fingers down the tresses. "I like it" he assured her with another easy smile. "Though I do miss the curls" he added and began to twirl one of the locks around his finger.

"Only when it's wet" she gulped.

"I can help with that"

His eyes met hers and both realised just how close they were.

"You're still a disgusting dirty minded pig" she replied sweetly and ducked her head, drawing back from him.

He grinned wickedly. "I love how well you know me" he jested and continued to stare at her with amusement. Silently, he watched her scoff and drink her wine. "Don't act all high and mighty princess" Fitz interrupted her with the accusing finger he pointed at her. "If I remember correctly, you were a fallen angel all through college"

"I am a good girl now" she argued feebly.

He hitched an eyebrow and regarded her with another charming smile. "Is that what you're telling yourself?" he laughed when met with silence. "Summer 1988, Vegas?" he reminded her and had the satisfaction of watching her drop her head in shame.

"Don't" she shook her head defiantly.

Fitz being Fitz didn't want to let it go. "You kissed the groom and sucker punched the bride" he recalled, loving how she groaned in embarrassment.

"I was drunk" she excused herself and then turned the tables onto him. "And you're the one who dragged me down there. For some dead-end shot gun wedding" she growled.

He laughed with ease and fell back on the seat. "At least something hasn't changed"

"What?" she countered, blinking up at him.

"You're still cynical" he jabbed and allowed his eyes to fall down onto her hands, which were wrapped around the glass. "And single by the looks of things"

She found no use in lying but didn't appreciate his tone either. "I'm a busy girl with a busy life. I don't have time to date" she replied, proud of the lack of wistfulness in her voice. She couldn't exactly tell him that the reason she didn't date was because she always ended up comparing them to him.

"And you still do that thing with your nose when you're talking about relationships"

She whipped her head up again and furrowed her eyebrows. "What thing?"

"It's like a little nose twitch" he demonstrated and laughed at how she hid behind her hair.

"What nose twitch? There's no twitch" she contended profusely.

"Like rabbits" Fitz continued to tease her and brought his fingers up to gently and playfully pinch at her nose. "It's adorable" he tried to appease her when she swatted him away.

She was about to retort but they were interrupted with the low vibrate of a phone. As Olivia made a move to search for her bag, she paused at Fitz standing up. "Excuse me, I gotta take this" he gestured towards the phone in his hands and walked towards the men's bathroom.

Reading into the terse tone, Olivia knew exactly who it was.

She peeked up to the corner he now stood in as he grew frustrated. His fingers already clawing at his wispy locks confirmed her suspicions.

Their conversations were brief so Olivia was quick to order another round as well as tequila shots. Just as the drinks arrived, so did he.

"Big Jerry" Olivia guessed and he simply exhaled, pulling his seat so he could sit back down. "I can fix that" she promised and pushed a shot glass towards him.

"I can only do one" he warned her but his gaze would frequent towards the drink and he realised that she was no stranger. Olivia knew him better than anyone. "I have a reservation to get to" he sighed and downed the tequila, humming at the bittersweet burn that it left in his throat.

"Dinner with your dad, sounds fun" Olivia replied gravely and followed with her own shot. Only she couldn't help but cough at how the familiar burn was presented. Flames now scorching her tongue but then leaving a poignant warmth. "Do you need an ally?" she offered, looking up at him with concern.

"No" he shook her head and she couldn't help but frown. He noticed the change in her demeanour and began to explain himself. "I don't want to put you through that" he elaborated and began to drink the refilled scotch. "…but, we should meet up after" he suggested and Olivia tried to fight back her excitement.

"Breakfast for dinner?" she offered, remember how much he loved that.

Fitz grinned and raised his glass. "And shots for dessert"

"One more?" she waved the bartender over before he could refuse.

"One more" he agreed.

Olivia felt her head swim pleasantly and the warmth spread to her toes as she called. "Two more shots please"

This time, it was a waitress who approached them. She spotted the two at the counter and her eyes zoned onto Fitz. Lust in her gaze as she sauntered toward them, pushing her blonde hair behind her shoulder to show off her cleavage. This becoming more noticeable as she bent to get the tequila bottle.

Olivia noticed how Fitz had also been tranced by the woman and began to snap her fingers before his face. "Eyes over here" she ordered with a snarl, hating the jealously that resurfaced. After wallowing through it through high school, she despised it's return.

"Someone's jealous" Fitz joked and Olivia's breath caught.

"Get over yourself" she pushed at him again and snatched the glass from the waitress, suddenly needing a stronger drink.

After Fitz finished his, he sighed and began to stand again. "Okay then, I better go before I get you into trouble" he announced and began to throw on his jacket again.

"I don't have to sneak in through the window anymore. I'm a grown woman and I know my limit" Olivia snapped, still annoyed with how other women caught his interest. From a young age, she already knew that her best friend attracted women – how could he not. What bothered her was how he gave them the attention they craved but never once to her. "Do you need a ride?" she asked, trying to rid herself of the thoughts that had driven her childhood to insanity.

"No, we're eating at 1789 so I can walk there"

"1789?!" she exclaimed and swivelled around to face him. "He's pulling all out. Must be some dinner party" she taunted, hoping he would read into her tone. "Did you know that Chancellor Merkel went there?"

"No I did not" he narrowed his eyes and could easily tell that she was trying to say something. "Your point?"

Olivia tapped her chin. "Why would the ex-Governor of California invite his prodigal son to a dinner where politicians tend to get together, smoke cigars and make history?" she answered, cautioning hikm of his father's diabolical ways.

"I don't even want to go there" he shook his head, knowing that she was probably right. His father had been set against him going to the army as he wanted his golden boy to follow in his footsteps.

"Are you going to change?"

He paused and crossed his arms over his chest, taking two steps towards her. "Why? Don't I look good?"

"Oh no, you look very sexy" she replied and cursed how her brain seemed to have lost it's function. "I regretted that the second I said it. Don't let that get to your head" she swivelled back around to hideaway from his egotistical smirk.

However, Fitz leaned on the counter beside her and leaned in. "You think I'm sexy?"

"I didn't mean that" she shook her head.

"Yes you did" he poked at her side and she bit down on her lip to stop from laughing. He knew that she was ticklish. "The truth always seems to come out of you when you're drunk"

She turned to him with a gasp. "That's why you always offered to pay for my tab"

"I was being a gentleman"

"Sure…" she drawled out and they shared another smile.

He straightened up, hating that he had to leave her. "Okay then, I should go" he inclined his head towards the door.

"You should go" she agreed, knowing that Fitz's father was a man that shouldn't be tested.

"Don't miss me too much"

She rolled her eyes. "Conceited" she muttered under her breath.

He simply grinned and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Love you too" he quipped and walked away, missing how Olivia had frozen; struck by how easy it had been for him to do that.

Her eyes trailed after his path and watched as he winked at her before disappearing. The door closing after him and his presence already leaving a chill. "I love you" she whispered and turned around to order another mind numbing drink

**A/N: What do you think of their friendship? Should I go on?**


	2. Chapter 2

**LOOKING BACK**

**Photograph – Nickelback**

**Every memory of looking out the back door  
>I had the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor<br>It's hard to say it, time to say it  
>Goodbye, goodbye.<strong>

Olivia's night had once again been restless. She thought that after seeing him, she'd feel better and finally relinquish any worries. However, his presence overwhelmed her with memories of their past and hope for the future.

When she finally rolled off the bed at four o'clock, she tried to work quietly and not wake Huck. After organising thirty seven files, she caught the sunlight breaking at the window. This was what led her back into her bedroom so she could use the master bathroom.

After showering, she changed into a pair of white slacks and a grey silk top. Though, before she left, she couldn't help but wistfully linger on the jeans and yoga pants.

However, she was grateful for her decision as she stood in the grandeur of the McLean's largest estate. One hand braced on the pillar while the other fiddled with her blackberry, assuring a frenzied Harrison that their newest case would be okay.

Finally the door opened, revealing a frustrated Grant. "You again…" he grumbled and rested his reading glasses on his head. The newspaper now under his arm as he fixed his piercing gaze onto the woman that constantly annoyed him to no end.

Instantly Olivia had her guard up. Though she couldn't help but once again notice how his blue eyes gleamed like his son's. "Good to see you again Mr. Grant" she offered her hand, hoping that the past could remain.

"I wish I could say the same" he groused.

Realising how nothing had really changed, she rolled her eyes, dropping her hand and putting her phone away. "Can I come in?" her eyes darted to the house behind him.

"It's never stopped you before" he drawled out and walked back inside, leaving the door opened.

Olivia wanted to scold him at his childishness but knew it was better to just bite her tongue. "Where's Fitz?" she wondered, looking around and awing at how the house had remained the same. The crystal chandelier above her and the marble staircase on the far left.

"He's upstairs"

Gaining that information was almost too easy but Olivia didn't care. Maybe he'd accepted that she would never give up on her son. Deluding herself with the thought, she bounded up the stairs and paused at the top, suddenly drawn back to the past.

The carpet was still a burgundy that stretched down the hallway. She followed the usual path, stopping at the last door at the end.

Once she placed a hand on the doorknob, she turned it and raced towards the bed. "Wake up" she cooed playfully while her gaze roamed over the room. Gone were the posters of playboy bunnies and his favourite bands and movies. The pool table was missing but the space was filled with a large desk. Also, his old hammock was gone and a large poster bed took its place.

She took a step towards the bed but paused when watching as a dark haired girl sat up instead.

A shocked gasp left Olivia as she ducked her head and spun around. "Oh wow, sorry" she hastily apologised before yanking the door opened and trailing down the stairs. Only, her mood was further tarnished with the smirk on Jerry.

"Oh I must have forgotten about his sleepover" he replied innocently and sniggered when strolling into the kitchen.

Olivia inhaled deeply, ignoring the incessant buzzing clouding her thoughts. Rather than walking out of the door like she should, she drew in a breath and followed after him. Ignoring the humoured eyes trained on her, she fell back into her past routine when brewing some coffee.

"Oh please…walk around my kitchen, eat my food and pretend you own the goddamn place" he growled, the burning rage causing him to slap his paper onto the table.

"Never stopped me before" she recited his previous words, turning away from him to smirk victoriously.

At the sounds of his steps trailing out of the room, she busied herself with making waffles. She hadn't realised how hungry she was but suddenly being here reminded her of home.

Olivia had immersed herself into the task that she jumped at the padded footsteps approaching her. Whirling around, she looked up to a dishevelled Fitz. His dark tresses were disarrayed and his features aligned into tranquility. Her eyes dropped, lingering on his muscled chest and suddenly she was seventeen again.

"Liv?" he rubbed his tired eyes and yawned. "What are you doing here?"

She forced herself to stop marvelling on how his pyjama trousers hung low on his hips. "Well after you stood me up yesterday…" she trailed off, bringing her questioning eyes up to him.

"Sorry, I…" he paused and turned to the same brunette that joined his side. Olivia watched feeling numb with the grin that broke through as he wrapped an arm around the woman. "I got caught up" he explained with a mischievous grin.

For the first time ever Olivia Pope was speechless. All she could do was calculate how happy her best friend seemed; how the new woman in his life was standing in only Fitz's button down; how his arm was wrapped possessively around her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep him" the woman apologised, capturing Olivia's attention again.

She knew that she had to form the words so she gulped down her numbness. "Don't worry about it" she forced through clenched teeth. "We could do lunch instead?" she offered, ignoring the thumping of her racing heartbeat.

"Actually I was hoping that I could have lunch with my son and his girlfriend" Jerry reappeared though Olivia suspected he had been listening in.

"Girlfriend?!" she spluttered in surprise.

Fitz frowned and looked towards his father. "Liv can come too" he protested, wondering if he'd father would ever stop being such a pompous idiot.

"Don't let me intrude" she shook her head, hating the conflict that always sparked when she was around.

"No intrusion" Fitz continued to defend her, pulling away from his girl to assure Olivia.

Jerry, angered by his son's constant disobedience, huffed in frustration. "I already made a reservation for three" he argued, glaring daggers at the cause of his anger.

"Fitz…" Olivia shook her head, hating where she was at that moment.

Still, he remained persistent when crossing his arms over his chest. "We could amend the reservation" he suggested, not backing down from Jerry's glowering.

"It's too late" he finalised and folded his paper before leaving again.

Olivia placed a hand to Fitz's shoulder but dropped it at the wary glance from his woman. "It's fine. I've been abandoning Huck anyway" she excused herself.

"Huck…?" Fitz frowned.

Before he could interrogate her, a step was taken towards her. "Olivia?" she looked up to the young woman hesitantly approaching her. "I'm Mellie" she introduced.

"It's nice to meet you" Olivia stammered, hating how her voice wavered.

Mellie finally smiled, pleased with the cordiality. "I have heard so much about you" she continued.

_Funny because I hadn't heard anything about her_, Olivia thought but was interrupted when her arms suddenly engulfed her. Over her shoulder, she looked at Fitz in surprise and silently questioning her. Though, he simply shrugged and leaned back onto the counter with a lethargic smirk.

When Mellie withdrew, Olivia composed herself.

"I should go get changed" Mellie said and before leaving, Olivia had to endure watching how she walked around her to kiss Fitz. She looked away, trying to discard the gut wrenching feeling of having him ripped away from her.

He wasn't hers…he never would be.

"I'm sure I'll be seeing you around" Mellie smiled warmly and patted her shoulder when leaving.

As soon as she was out of sight, Fitz seemed to relax when grabbing Olivia's hand. "I wanna show you something" he stated.

"What?"

Without replying, he pulled her through the living room and led me out of the glass doors and out of the garden. "It's been so long…" she murmured when they stumbled outside. Her gaze stretching across the streaming gardening. Roses, carnations, gardenias, posies, daisies and freesias but the beauty was all because of Fitz's mother.

The only thing they had a hand in was the apple tree which was surprisingly still alive. It seemed more fruitful before but it helped that the treehouse was no longer there.

"Come on" he urged, squeezing her hand and pulling her towards the tree. He led her around to the back and gestured towards the wood.

She smiled knowingly at the sight of the deep carvings; 

"I remember this"

**-FLASHBACK-**

_"People fall out all the time. Things change, people change because nothing lasts forever" A thirteen year old Olivia complained. She was irate after having witnessed her father slamming the door in her mother's face. The rage sent tremors through her, causing her to pull the blanket around her, pushing herself further into the corner._

_Suddenly warmth brushed her cheek and she peeked up to him. He was her rock, her saviour…but what if she lost him too? Who was to say that their moments weren't numbered?_

_"Come on" he whispered and nodded towards the exit._

_When he disappeared down the steps, Olivia sighed and followed after him. When she stood at the doorway, firm hands rested on her hips, helping her down to her feet. Once she regained balance, she looked up with a grateful smile._

_He grinned and reached into his pocket to take out something small, red and silver._

_"Where did you get that?" Olivia exclaimed and looked towards the double doors. "Your dad will freak if he saw that" she hissed and covered the object with her hand._

_Fitz simply shrugged her off with another impish smirk. "That's why it'll be our secret" he winked and his playful nature was enough to break her from her panic. She watched curiously as he walked to the back of the tree._

_Slowly, he brought up the red Swiss knife to the bark._

_"What are yo-"_

_Her words abruptly came to a complete halt when she watched him dig the blade into the wood._

_Trembling fingers were brought up as they tentatively traced the words. " and " she whispered, feeling the heaviness that burdened her, now lightened._

_"This will last forever" he promised._

_She brought her gaze up to look at her. Intense chocolate brown eyes locked onto bright sapphire orbs, frisked with silver wisped flecks. "Forever" he murmured in a more lowered voice before bringing his lips to her forehead._

-**FLASHBACK END-**

"I can't believe it's still here" she whispered shakily.

Something discerned him as he scowled and glanced up. "The treehouse is gone though" he noted with a forlorn tone. "Daddy dearest wasn't too fond of that thing" he reminisced.

"Remember when we were building it?" she asked wistfully.

He heckled. "We? I did everything"

"Hey, I give it ambience" she argued, pushing at his chest.

Fitz shook her head in amusement. "Oh yes, the frilly curtains and cardigan carpet showed how you mastered sheng fui" he replied sarcastically.

"Only because you didn't trust me with any power tools. I had to be the good girl that stood by and stuck with the décor" Olivia ranted with mock annoyance.

"Do you forget how you dropped the hammer on my foot?" he arched a brow.

She nudged him. "Man up Fitz. It was barely a scratch"

"I had to get stitches" he screeched.

"Your dad banned you from seeing me" Olivia laughed at the memory.

Fitz stepped closer towards her. "Not that it stopped us" he smirked and winked at her. "Don't worry about him…" he tried to assure her when comfortingly rubbing up her arm.

Nonetheless, the touch did nothing but make her want to distance herself. All she could think about was the NAVY shirt filled with the pretty brunette. "And Mellie?" she timidly asked, nervously peering up at him.

"I was going to tell you" he sighed and took a seat on the white garden swing. "We didn't exactly have a lot of time to catch up"

Olivia slowly stumbled down to the space beside him. "How long…?"

"Seven months" he answered and the answer made her regret to having ever asked. Why was she even bothering with the questions? They only made it worse for her but couldn't help but continue.

"Does that include the time you've been overseas?"

"No" he shook his head and she fought back tears with the smile playing on his lips.

Bowing her head, she linked her fingers together and prolonged the torture. "How did you two meet?" she questioned.

"Believe it or not, my father did something right for once" he chuckled lightly and anxiously looked at her. He fretted over her change in demeanour, easily reading into how she was masking herself. The walls had been brought back up and she didn't understand why, when it was just him.

Olivia finally brought herself up. "Your father set you up?"

"Mellie's great. She's smart. Did you know she graduated from Harvard Law? Top of her class" he rambled and stared up at the sky with a beaming grin. "She's funny and sweet and I think if you got to know her, you'd like her" he inclined his head towards her.

"Seven months?" Olivia gasped with a laugh.

Fitz narrowed his eyes at her. "She might be the one" he explained, hoping that she would understand how much he cared for Mellie because Olivia's sneering was unnerving him.

It suddenly became too much for her as Olivia shot up from the seat. "The one? The one?" she jeered and ran her fingers through her hair. "You thought Chelsea was the one, next was Jenny and then her sister Paige" she listed. "I think her mother too…"

"I'm a changed man" he stood up and eyed her. "You don't believe me?"

Olivia's head reeled and she placed one hand onto her forehead. "It's just…implausible" she finally replied, carefully choosing words that wouldn't offend him.

"I love her"

The proclamation made her whip her head around. "You what?" she ordered, her stomach sinking as she felt her knees give in. Everything seemed to ache

In the past, he had done nothing but go through women like a change of clothing. She used to hold onto hope that he would see how they got along so well and realise that the meaningless sex couldn't compare to what they had. How could he not feel… Now – now he found someone. Someone else that he now knew he loved.

"I do, I love her" he nodded in confirmation as the revelation manifested. Then his eyes dangerously shifted as dread filled them. "Don't say anything because I haven't told her yet"

"Don't worry" she gulped and swayed on her footing.

Fitz seemed oblivious to how stunned she was. "I can always count on you Liv" he smiled and hugged her shoulders, kissing her forehead.

At that moment, Olivia was thankful of the low buzzing of her phone. "What?" she answered and pursed her lips to fight against the need for some kind of release.

"We need you in the office" Abby informed.

_Maybe I did have a guardian angel_, Olivia thought when ending the call. "I'll be there in ten" she answered, though she knew they could probably handle whatever was going on.

"I was going to make pancakes" Fitz placed a hand on her shoulder, capturing her attention again.

Composing herself, she forced a smile and teased him. "Then I should leave as soon as possible"

"Ha ha" he laughed mockingly.

As she began to leave, he followed after her, hot on her heels. It was when they reached the glass doors that she stopped and turned to offer parting words. However, the words caught in her throat with how close they were. "I need to get to work" Olivia mumbled and took a step back.

"It's a Saturday. You should be done by Friday" he scolded, worrying over her schedule.

Olivia placed a hand on her hip and jutted out her jaw. "I'm never done"

When Fitz realised that there was nothing he could say to make her stay. "Have a great lunch" he answered "You could still come join us?"

"And risk your father getting a heart attack?" Olivia pursed her lips again and her eyebrows furrowed in contemplation over her words. "Wait - now I'm tempted" she joked.

"Then come by for dinner" Fitz suggested.

Olivia knew she would need the night which was why she knew she couldn't make any promises. "Maybe" she whispered breathlessly, still aware of how his chest was pressed up against him. His heat leaving a burning warmth onto her skin, setting her nerves alight. It only made it that much harder to even try and be happy for him. "I have to go"

**A/N; Thank you all for the amazing reviews. It was so great to read through them all and learn that you wanted me to continue. I hope you enjoyed this update; Thoughts on Mellie? Feelings over Fitz…Olivia? **


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